Toronto FC's Benezet garnering attention with his recent play

CINCINNATI — Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney was adamant about a couple of things last week at the BMO Training Ground.

Vanney insisted that sooner rather than later — much sooner, in fact — the club’s star attacking midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo would start picking up goals and/or assists again. The Seville native, who exploded on to the MLS scene after joining the Reds last March, had gone five straight games without recording either.

Lo and behold, Pozuelo recorded two assists in Toronto’s 5-1 victory at Nippert Stadium against expansion FC Cincinnati, and was named Man of the Match.

The other point Vanney stressed was that he felt the club’s new French midfielder, Nicolas Benezet, would become a regular scorer for the Reds. Sure enough, the Montpellier native, who was acquired by TFC on loan with an option to extend beyond this season from En Avant de Guingamp of France’s Ligue 2 on July 31, scored his first goal for Toronto on Aug. 31 on the Gillette Stadium turf in a 1-1 draw with New England and then added his second on Saturday night, on the turf at Nippert Stadium, in TFC’s win over FC Cincinnati. Two straight games on turf, two goals. This is a guy who recently told the Toronto Sun that he hates playing on turf because turf is “s–t”.

TFC GM Ali Curtis made a flurry of moves in July, trading for veteran forward Patrick Mullins to give Vanney a reliable scoring option if Jozy Altidore can’t play (as was the case against Cincy), and acquired a pair of TAM players, Benezet and Erickson Gallardo, a young Venezuelan winger.

There was a buzz around both players, probably more so around the 23-year-old Gallardo, given his age, quality and pace. But Benezet has steadily raised eyebrows in Toronto and around the league with his recent play, patrolling the left wing with Gallardo on the right. And the Reds may have found a gem with the former French U20 national team player.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” said Vanney. “You see his capacity to be sort of a hybrid wide player and a guy who comes in between the lines. He’s shifty and quick and can help you eliminate the first offender. It helps us when he’s on the left side and J-Mo (Justin Morrow) is on the left side because he creates some space for a guy like Justin to really fill that space and get into an attacking position. But he also has the comfort to just go out wide and play like a wide winger and get some crosses in with his left foot.

“You can tell he’s experienced, he’s smart. Now after being here for several weeks, I think in this last stretch Nico’s really shown that he understands what the team’s concepts are, what the team’s principles are and what we’re trying to do on both sides of the ball. And I think kind of allows him to settle in and do what he does very well.”

Benezet, 28, sat down with the Sun last week and conversed as best he could in English, though goalkeeper Quentin Westberg agreed to act as interpreter when needed. The veteran midfielder talked about his new team, Major League Soccer, leaving France for North America, his outside interests (including Manga — Japanese comics and novels) and his desire to stay with TFC beyond the season, something he was adamant about.

“He loves it here,” said Vanney. “He really is playing to try to stay here. When guys are on loan, the first couple of weeks they’re trying to figure out whether this is the place (they want to be). He knew pretty quickly that this is the place he would love to be. So part of his motivation is, he wants to be here. So he’s trying to prove his value to the club and to the team in every way.”

It’s been a small sample size, but Vanney is pumped with the way Benezet is adjusting to MLS and his new team.

“As this stretch progresses for him, I still think he’s going to be a guy who gets his fair share of goals and assists,” said the coach. “He’s got enough quality to finish and he’s got enough quality to set guys up. Again, that balance between running out of the midfield and also receiving balls between the midfield, he’s another guy who is important for us in that aspect.”

It’s not readily apparent, given that he is still learning conversational English, but Benezet is supposed to be a real character — based on what his new teammates have to say and some of the stories written about him in the French media. Benezet has only been in Toronto a few weeks, but Westberg said he has adjusted very well to his new club.

“He’s outgoing, very fun to be around,” said Westberg. “And he’s doing well for himself both as a person and a soccer player.”

Added Vanney: “You can tell he’s made some real connections in the group and has a playful side to him. He loves to play the game and he’s created relationships in the group — on the field and off the field. For me, he’s doing a great job. He just needs to keep doing that, keep being who is, enjoy playing and we’ll be fine.”

Interestingly, during his time with Guingamp earlier this season, Benezet was not always a favourite with the French’s club then manager Jocelyn Gourvennec, who is actually a friend of Vanney’s from when the TFC coach played in France. Gourvennec banished Benezet to the sidelines frequently, saying he wanted more from the midfielder. For his part, Vanney has no complaints with Benezet’s effort in training or in games.

“It’s funny, because Jocelyn was an attacking midfielder himself who, like Nico, was crafty and could definitely unlock a game on the attacking side,” said Vanney. “And when you get a lot of guys like that, and that’s their strength, then typically they’re not the rugged defensive players in midfield that maybe you could wish to get a little bit more put of.

“I think with all attacking players, I wish they could work just a little bit harder, especially on the defensive side. Especially the ones who have the most quality,” added the coach. “But they also tend to be the ones with a lot of experience in quality and tend to be intelligent defenders. Seba (Sebastian Giovinco) was the same, Jozy’s the same. They don’t put in a ton of work because their mind set is about shifting the game on the attacking side. But they put in smart work. And I think that’s what Nico does for us as well. He knows when he needs to recover and help us out defensively but he also knows how to find his way to cheat a little bit on the attacking side, to help us create things the other way. I understand the points for sure that Jocelyn is making, but for us it’s just continuing to encourage Nico on both sides and just give us what we need for us to be successful.”

Benezet said he is thoroughly enjoying his change in life, living in a mega-city like Toronto and is happy with the way he is adjusting to MLS.

“It’s not the same as French football. The level of the offensive players is very high here compared to defending. And in France it’s very defensive-minded. So there’s less space for offensive players,” he said.

Asked if his last two games are an indication that he can shine in the MLS, Benezet looked to Westberg to ask what the word “shine” means. When given the explanation, he said: “Yes, I think I can shine,” he said with a laugh, emphasizing the word “shine.”

“I play with good players — Mike (Bradley), Oso (Jonathan Osorio), Marky (Delgado) … I like playing with them. I came here to win, to play and go to the playoffs. I think we will go to the playoffs.”

As the interview wound down, Benezet turned to Westberg, feigned exasperation, and said of the Sun reporter: “I don’t understand this guy’s English.”

Realizing that he said it in English and not French, Benezet started laughing, as did Westberg.

Not to worry, he was told. A lot of people have trouble understanding the Sun reporter’s English.

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